For tournament anglers, those words  bag-em up means to put their fish in the weigh-in bag and bring them to the scales.  Other anglers may Bag-em up to see how much that trophy fish weighs.  No matter what, the conservation minded angler has several choices when handling fish to reduce stress or neglect that could lead to injury or mortality.  How an angler handles fish will decide what condition fish will be in after being released.

Once an angler catches a fish, the measuring and weighing process begins.  When fishing in a tournament or for fun, every species of fish will have a legal length limit according to that body of water.  Anglers can use a tape measure but that can be unreliable and difficult to use.   Bob Suci, owner of Bag-em Products (www.bag-em.com)  developed two solutions to this problem, “You can use a Bag-em Bump Board, it was designed to automatically close the fish’s mouth and keep it closed; it’s made of non-breakable ABS plastic that measures up to 18-inches, will not warp with heat or bend out of shape, and can be combined with the Bag-em Fish Holster” Suci continued, “ The Bag-em Fish Holster  is made of .20-mil thick polyethylene with re-enforced nylon that is flexible allowing you to help hold down the fish, fits all 2-inch wide rulers, and can be adjusted with Velcro to fit the size fish you are catching; simply slide the fish mouth first against the rule and the Fish Holster will allow you to see if the fish’s mouth is closed but will cover their eyes keeping them calm”.

After measuring the fish, it will either end up being released, culled, or kept.  If kept, in a tournament situation, an angler will weigh it, tag it, record its weight, and place it into the livewell.  Although this process of culling sounds easy, it’s not.  Culling can be a stressful situation for fish or even anglers without the correct equipment.  Suci explains, “Too many fish lose their slime coat or end up with damaged fins during the culling process; all of the products I developed were to protect the fish once it was caught”.  Anglers can begin by placing the fish in a Bass or Walleye Bag.  The black polyethylene bags will keep the fish calm, requires less handling to preserve the slime coat, and keeps your hands free of teeth and gill plates.  Anglers should take note that the Bass Bag measures 12-inches by 18-inches, while the Walleye Bag is 12-inches by 25-inches.  Both can easily be cleaned with a garden hose.

To keep track of which fish weighs what, anglers can use Bag-em Bass Tags with the weigh board and marker to record the individual fish’s weight.  After catching a limit, knowing which fish to cull is easy by checking the weight board.  The weigh board list which color Bass Tag is attached to what weight fish.  Simply take off the smaller fish and replace it with the larger one with a corresponding Bass Tag and write down the new weight.  Conservative minded anglers endorse the fish friendly color coded stringers.  Bass Tags are made from 100% stainless steel clamps instead of the stringer type snaps that puncture membrane around the fish’s mouth.  The tags come in different colored, tangle-free, floating rubber tubes that are easy to identify. 

Once an angler has his limit, the situation of having two fish that weigh almost the same may occur.  Many bass tournaments have been won by ounces, so it is critical to find which bass to cull.  If this occurs, anglers often use a balance beam to see which fish is heavier.  While the majority of balance beams use snaps or hooks to hold a flopping fish while weighing them, Bag-em has come out with a balance beam that uses two unique black Bass Bags with Velcro to place the fish in tail first to immobilize them, positions the fish head up for easy removal, and does not harm the fish or puncture membrane around the fish’s mouth.  The Bag-em Balance Beam includes a built-in bubble level that can quickly identify which fish is heavier.

Apparently, Suci has thought of everything, including the weigh-in process.  Bag-em even has Carry Bags.  These .13-mil thick, polyethylene with reinforced nylon bags are used by FLW Outdoors and other major tournament circuits.  Labels can also be attached to the bags making them perfect for bass clubs, or tournament organizations to promote themselves on.

For Suci, it’s a passion to make products that protect fish so they can be caught again another day.  It shows in the products he has designed and developed for anglers to use.